SOUTHINGTON >> One person was seriously hurt and part of Interstate 84 was shut down for hours in the Cheshire area after a fiery crash early Thursday afternoon.

The car traveled off the road into a post and onto the shoulder before striking the guardrail and launching into the air before hitting a bridge support system. The vehicle then went up in flames, state police spokeswoman Trooper First Class Kelly Grant said. Bystanders were able to pull the man from the burning car.

The crash happened at around 12:30 p.m. near eastbound Exit 28. The injured person was taken to Waterbury Hospital, Grant said.

Police have identified the injured man as a 21-year-old Prospect resident.

The crash site is just over the town line from Cheshire near the interchange with Interstate 691.

Parts of I-84 and the Exit 28 ramp to I-691 were shut down in the hours after the crash, according to the state Department of Transportation. The DOT reported at 3:15 p.m. that the crash had cleared.